Our Lady Peace Albums (8)
What The Critics Say
The major thing to happen to Our Lady Peace since the 2005 release of Healthy in Paranoid Times is the public embrace of David Cook, winner of the 2008 American Idol. Cook often called OLP his favorite band, enlisting the group's Raine Maida to co-write three songs on his debut, a development that could theoretically lead to a bigger audience for the Canadian post-grunge band, something that OLP appear to have kept in mind for their 2009 album, Burn Burn, if its streamlined sound is any indication. For all intents and purposes, this is another OLP album, still sounding like a hybrid of Joshua Tree-era U2 and latter-day Goo Goo Dolls, but the quirks, including the political inclination of Healthy, are toned down in favor of a gleaming adult alternative sound. Because Our Lady Peace are a rock band first and foremost, the slower moments are anthemic rather than sappy and the fist-pumping rockers are infused with righteousness, with the two extremes tied together with a spaciness that splits the difference between U2 and Coldplay. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Healthy in Paranoid Times'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 12
Label Sony
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Live from Calgary and Edmonton'
Release Date 6/24/2003
Tracks 14
Label Sony
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After over ten years together, Toronto's Our Lady Peace settled into a sound that accesses the grandeur of U2 via clean channel grunge guitars and the anchor of frontman Raine Maida's charismatic steel-wool wail. Though his lyrics tend to cross the busy with the banal, Maida is usually saved by melody, especially on the undeniable arena-quality rock of OLP's string of hits. And it's these big, bursting singalongs that fare best on Live from Calgary and Edmonton, ranging from old favorites like "Superman's Dead" and "Naveed" to newer material like "Innocent" (which ends with a fawning crowd harmonizing on the song's uplifting chorus mantra). "Innocent" comes from OLP's 2002 release, Gravity, which behind the ubiquitous single "Somewhere Out There" became another monster hit at home. Live works as a cap to a year that saw the combo garner six Much Music Video Award nominations, and fans will appreciate its greatest-hit qualities. Maida himself has much the same range live as he does on record, even if some of his high notes waver a bit. But the album does end strong, ripping into "Clumsy" and "Whatever" with authority, and prefacing early single "Starseed" with a Jeff Buckley-style blue light interlude. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The lyrics on Our Lady Peace's Gravity rage at the spiritual bankruptcy of suburban oldsters ("All for You"), express tender regret over love lost ("your purple hair" is among the items missed in "Somewhere Out There," a kind of apocalyptic variation on "These Foolish Things"), and otherwise zoom in on the blemished face of modern life. It's apparent that Raine Maida has a message and the pipes to deliver it with angst and fury in appropriate proportion. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Obviously striving for a deeper meaning rather than the overly passionate composition found on their last album, Our Lady Peace goes for the concept record. Spiritual Machines is a bold move, considering it's the band's fourth album into their mounting career. Still, Raine Maida is confident. Spiritual Machines is exactly what he hoped it would be -- intelligence with a cause. The title of the record breathes such power of thought, for Spiritual Machines comes from Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence. Maida's heavy lyrical depictions play directly into such social conventionalism. It's also deeply personal in the sense that the band attempts to reach for individual spirituality with the hopes of that listeners do the same. Stereotypes and clichés can lead this world into something less desirable, therefore Our Lady Peace projects that inner spirituality can replenish anything lost inside one's self. Call it a deep move beyond their previous efforts, but the gnarling grunge-oriented guitars that have kept Our Lady Peace a silent success (outside of Canada) since 1995's Naveed is a chief force. "Are You Sad" and "Right Behind You (Mafia)" are both therapeutic anthems attacking personal stress and struggle, but recognizing a support system as well. The band experienced inner turmoil when drummer Jeremy Taggart was severely injured after a mugging during the recording sessions. Left without a drummer for these two songs, fellow mate and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron stepped in. Maida's lazy nasal-like vocals carry "In Repair" with sheer essence -- there are no thunderous riffs plaguing the song's initial plea for a little soul-searching. The first single, "Life," and "Middle of Yesterday" also inspire one to look beyond the trials and tribulations of every day routine, for there is indeed something better lurking behind. It seems as if the members of Our Lady Peace have found a common peace. They can still deliver pinch-hitting licks and the brash attitude they did when they first formed in 1993, but they are a little older and a little wiser. The notions behind Kurzweil's book and Our Lady Peace's Spiritual Machines illustrate that such things can be a working force instead of placated psychological jargon interpreted by followers. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
'Happiness Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch'
Release Date 9/28/1999
Tracks 11
Label Sony
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Our Lady Peace follows its breakthrough second album, Clumsy, with a third that continues its hard-rock approach. The guitar-bass-drums team of Mike Turner, Duncan Coutts, and Jeremy Taggart (here augmented by guest guitarist/keyboard player Jamie Edwards) gets a full sound clearly influenced by late '60s bands like the Who and Led Zeppelin (and you can tell they've listened to late Beatles songs like "Helter Skelter," too), but with the harsh attack and sudden stops and starts common to grunge. The result is an intense, sometimes majestic sound more listenable than, but just as compelling as, some of the rap/metal hybrids the group is competing with on radio and the road, and in the record stores. Curiously, the band's weak link is lead singer and lyricist Raine Maida, whose mannered vocals, reminiscent of early David Bowie with unexpected, pointless swoops into falsetto and odd emphases, and adolescent, nihilistic words don't match the music's quality. Of course, Maida's sentiments may appeal to his potential audience, who may find lines like "Everyone you meet today is feeling useless & ashamed" ("Happiness & The Fish") and "Goodbye, the future's sold out" ("Is Anybody Home?") observations with which they can identify. (Legendary jazz Elvin Jones is credited with additional drums on the album closer, "Stealing Babies," but his participation is not readily audible.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Two years after their impressive debut, Our Lady Peace continue their rock journey with Clumsy. This time around, the melodies are more comfortable and the roaring rock riffs are calmer, resulting in a sound that earned Our Lady Peace the highest sales of their career. Raine Maida's lyrical screeching remains intact, sounding quite inviting on songs such as "Big Dumb Rocket" and "Automatic Flowers." The intensity found on the first album is a bit more tame, but Clumsy still beats the sophomore slump, and leadoff single "Superman's Dead" shows Our Lady Peace creating a unique type of post-grunge music. The album does introduce a more mature Our Lady Peace, and Maida's songwriting is far more internal, a reflection of personal imperfections and consequences that help fuel standout ballads like "4 A.M." But what makes Our Lady Peace a powerful act is their desire to keep it real on their own turf. Many may criticize Clumsy as less desirable, but it's their own deal. And that's how rock & roll should be, anyway. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Canada's Our Lady Peace makes a stunning debut with Naveed, almost avoiding the mid-'90s reign of Seattle's grunge. Mixing fierce melodies among '60s hard rock guitars, Our Lady Peace projects confidence, but is not as angry as Pearl Jam; however, they're abrasive and ready to rage against the corporate social machine. Percussion is tight, and frontman Raine Maida's lyrical poetry is also solid and wailing. Songs like "Supersatellite" and debut single "Starseed" gnarl with Maida's scratchy falsetto, which complements Mike Turner's riveting licks. They're anxious, and that's refreshing for a young band. They're not exactly hoping to define anything, but Our Lady Peace does wish to relish the rock & roll hardballers who came before them. "Hope" and "Denied" are both infectious with Zen-like rhythms similar to the likes of Led Zeppelin, making a definitive stance for the band. Our Lady Peace yearns to achieve a musical position, and Naveed is a decent introduction to the group's own musical spirituality. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
